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Officials say congestion near Layton Hills Mall should vastly improve beginning Sunday as a new controversial ThrU Turn fully opens — a design criticized by businesses where it has been used previously in Draper and Kearns.

"I think everyone in Layton is so excited that something is actually happening to make the intersections better, that they aren't too worried" about the design, said Cammy Hipwell, manager of a Wal-Mart there.

Layton Mayor Bob Stevenson quipped that congestion has been so horrible "that I swear there have been times I've been stuck in traffic and I've called myself and screamed at me" to improve it.

On Sunday, the Utah Department of Transportation and Layton will fully open ThrU Turns on Hill Field Road and Main Street. The design — called Michigan U-turns nationally — will prevent direct left turns off roads at some major intersections near I-15 there to shorten signal cycles.

It is expected to cut travel time in half between Gordon Avenue (near the mall) and Main Street (west of I-15).

Motorists seeking to turn left must instead go straight through main intersections and make a U-turn at a special intersection with a signal a few hundred feet down the road. They then return to the main intersection and make a right turn.

Bill Wright, Layton's community and economic development director, said area drivers had already been doing similar maneuvers on their own.

"The back-up to turn onto the freeway is so long and congested that a lot of people would go through the intersection, make a U-turn and come back. We affectionately call it the Layton shortcut," he said. "Now we'll formalize it and make it a lot safer."

One of the four new special ThrU Turn intersections opened a couple weeks ago, while the other three will open on Sunday.

"I haven't heard any complaints about it [the one that opened]. It's been very free of problems. We found it very intuitive and easy to use," said UDOT spokesman Vic Saunders.

Wright said the city and businesses worked closely with UDOT on the design, and figure "it will actually improve access to most businesses. There won't be winners and losers. It helps everyone." He noted that some of the new U-turn intersections will also provide new, extra access directly to the mall or businesses such as Wal-Mart.

That was not the case in other areas now with Thru Turns, at 12300 South near I-15 in Draper and in Kearns at the intersection of 5400 South and 4015 West.

The Tribune previously reported about a pile of written complaints from businesses at both locations. For example, the owner of a Common Cents gas station in Draper correctly predicted to UDOT that "you're gonna kill" business because many customers exiting the freeway would need to make two U-turns to enter his station.

Within a year, Common Cents closed. Others wrote complaining that the design had significantly cut business in both locations, including a Rancho Market, a Walgreens and several fast-food restaurants.

Hipwell, with Wal-Mart in Layton, said UDOT has worked closely with local businesses, and she is impressed that the project has not closed roads during construction. She said contractors promised to complete it before holiday shopping, "and we're even getting it before Halloween, which is perfect."

More improvements are underway in Layton. A project to replace bridges over I-15 at Hill Field Road is ongoing and scheduled for completion next year. That will also redesign the interchange to reduce signal time and speed traffic.

Also, a future "fly-over" bridge is planned in 2017 directly between the mall area and Main Street.